In the Black Forest Fire of 2013 she lost her home, gazebo, horse barn, and all belongings except her 5-acre of land, her 1996 Subaru, and her “family” of two Golden Retrievers (who passed away recently) and two of her three cats. In the approximately 10 minutes she had to evacuate, she was able to get both dogs, two of the cats, some pet food, and her laptop into the back of her car. One cat could not be saved as she refused to get in the cat carrier. It was a terrible choice to have to make, but smoke was filling the air by then,

--and the flames were both visible and audible from her house.

​There was no chance to go back and retrieve anything else.

Everything burned to the ground that same day.

Faced with having to start over-- instead of her anticipated retirement of taking some art classes and doing art projects, fostering Golden Retrievers to be friends with her beloved dogs, and whatever else the good life might bring-- she took on the tremendous challenge of rebuilding and restoring.

She lived a year in a small apartment in Colorado Springs while her home was being rebuilt with insurance proceeds.

She could barely wait to move back to the “Forest.” But, there was no forest left! As we all know, the environment around a home is as important as the home itself. She has done as much as she can to give “life” back to her property – spreading mulch, planting seedlings, planting anything that will grow and dragging many hoses for many hours of each week to nourish the plants.

She is strong, gives her “all” in everything she encounters, is a very good neighbor, and leans on her faith. These virtues are what has gotten her to this point. However, she needs help but is somewhat shy to ask for it.

She is extremely grateful for all the progress that has been made but realizes there is a long road still ahead!

She hopes there are some helpful souls who can lend “a shoulder to plow” on her behalf.

Sponsorships help people like this afford trees as part of the continued fire recovery.